Individuals with limited mobility, such as individuals confined to wheelchairs or individuals that are stricken with arthritis or other debilitating disease or ailment, have long had trouble accessing cupboard/cabinet shelves that are not at immediate hand/arm level reach. Either such individuals give up upper cupboard/cabinet space as access to goods in such cupboard/cabinet space is impractical or they undergo extensive home/office remodels but often require larger square footage to have the same cupboard/cabinet space with upper cupboards.
Further, cathedral ceilings are all the rage. As a result, cabinet height has been increased. Even for tall people, accessing these very high cabinets (and their contents) can be challenging. It is particularly so for those that are not tall or have limited mobility due to injury or illness.
One product offering is the REV-A-SHELF 5PD Series (By the Rev-A-Shelf Company LLC of Jeffersontown, Ky.) pull down shelving system that employs mechanical linkage wire shelving system that is manually pulled down to vertically access upper shelves without using a step-stool. However, this system is not robust enough to be accessed by those with limited mobility but more designed to provide assistance to a homemaker. Further, the bottom shelf is necessarily truncated to provide clearance in movement and so critical shelf space is lost. These types of systems are not robust enough to be used in institutional settings or designed for users with limited mobility that want to stay in their existing homes.